Xbox Continue to exist Windows Phone 7: Hands On and First Impressions [Microsoft]

The first tease of Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 piqued my interest, sure. But once I had just a little hands-on time with a number of the games planned for launch, Microsoft’s officially got my undivided attention.

Microsoft’s trotting out over 50 titles today, all of which and more will probably be available by the time Windows Phone 7 devices go on sale this holiday season. After I spoke with Kevin Unangst-the company’s PC and mobile gaming big boss-he repeatedly mentioned that this list was just a taste. But despite more titles expected before launch, there’s already a good deal to like here: casual favorites like Bejeweled and Oregon Trail, Xbox exclusive fare from the Halo and Crackdown franchises, three games with ” Zombie” inside the name. Good times.

How’s the interface? In a word: familiar. While you tap on the Xbox Live tile, you’re met with what Matt saw when he took an in-depth tour Windows Phone 7. There’s your avatar waiting to greet you. There’s the last achievement you unlocked, whether it was to your console or the phone. This is often where you spot game invites from friends, games you’ve downloaded. There’s a Spotlight area that wasn’t up and running yet on the handset I saw, but it surely serves an analogous purpose it does for your console. It’s Xbox Survive your phone, as promised.

There are also some clever ways Microsoft has optimized the experience for mobile. Your 3D avatar will get dizzy and collapse once you shake the phone, and in case you unlock an avatar item on Xbox Live anywhere it’s usable on the phone. And your avatar can invade the remainder of your phone, too, with Avatar Gadgets, which can be simple productivity apps like a flashlight, coin toss, ruler, and leveler that your avatar interacts with on screen.

Every Xbox Live game on Windows Phone 7 has a 200 gamerscore, similar to Xbox Live Arcade games, and may accrue in your overall gamerscore. That integrated experience is reflected for your Avatar in addition: any customizations you’re making on the phone will probably be reflected immediately on the console, and vice versa.

There’s going to be a healthy mix of paid and free games, although every download features a free trial mode (like in Xbox Live Arcade). Unangst wouldn’t comment on pricing beyond its being a tiered system. Whenever you do buy a game, though, it won’t be with Xbox Live points-it’ll be cold hard cash during the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace or carrier billing.

Of course, none of this matters if the games suck. Which, happily, they most certainly don’t.

The titles I saw and got a gamble to play with weren’t entirely finished, but they were in remarkably good condition because we’re still a couple of months far from release. My overall impression is that the graphics were uniformly sharp, the game play crisp, and the extras-specifically, the achievements-really do help in making Xbox Live stand out as a mobile experience. It’s way more iPhone than PSP, but there’s no shame in that. As for specific quick impressions:

Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst

It’s a tower defense game that happens within the same world as Crackdown 2, that’s good, but doesn’t directly impact the console game, that is frustrating. Imagine playing a Fable 3 game in your phone that will can help you earn Fable 3 gear in your Xbox 360. That’s not an option-yet-on Crackdown 2 or any other of the announced launch games. Unangst does acknowledge that ” the plumbing exists for us to build those varieties of experiences,” and the sooner they could the simpler.

That being said, the good element of Project Sunburst is the facility to organize your defenses anywhere on this planet. Like, the actual world, as shown to your phone by Bing Maps. Baddies walk up actual streets-hence, surrounding a practice center in Cologne, Germany-as you battle them away. It’s an easy tower defense game, but you get a little more invested when it’s your individual neighborhood.

Bejeweled Live

Hey, it’s Bejeweled! It’s a similar casual gamer crack that you simply’ll see on any other platform, with a couple of adjustments which are being packaged as exclusive Xbox Live content-like the power to compare jewels within the air other than looking ahead to them to land. It, at the side of lots of the other games, took forever to load; that’ll hopefully be resolved before launch.

Uno

Uno’s popularity inside the Xbox Live Arcade is straightforward enough to elucidate: it’s turn-based multiplayer game that straightforward to realise and fun to play. The phone version is not any different-truly, it’s practically identical; the advance tools are an analogous for the console and the phone, meaning that a game produced for you could be easily duplicated on the opposite.

Max and the Magic Marker

I only got a snappy have a look at MatMM, but it surely’s a straighforward puzzle-scroller, wherein you draw together with your marker to move over and around obstacles. More to the point: it’s been a well-liked WiiWare game since its release in March. The move to Xbox Live is indicative of Microsoft’s big tent strategy: complement exclusive franchises like Halo with proven winners from other platforms.

The Rest

This trailer only gives a couple of quick glimpses, nevertheless it grants a tight sense of the way fluid the game play is. Guitar Hero! Flight Control! But, sadly, no sign of Plants vs Zombies. Yet.

So yes, it makes all types of sense that Microsoft is pushing Xbox Live so hard on Windows Phone 7. Based on first impressions, it appears like while they haven’t evolved mobile gaming, they will have gotten it to level up.

With Xbox LIVE and a Blockbuster Title Lineup, Windows Phone 7 Marks a
New Era in Mobile Gaming

First wave of Xbox LIVE titles from award-winning publishers announced for the launch of
Windows Phone 7.

COLOGNE, Germany – Aug. 17, 2010 – Today at gamescom 2010, the area’s
largest consumer-oriented games showcase, Microsoft Corp. premiered the first wave of
Xbox LIVE games launching on Windows Phone 7 this holiday. With even more games and
applications to return, Windows Phone 7 is putting the ability of Xbox LIVE into the palm of
your hand – from Xbox LIVE Avatars to staying connected with friends, Xbox LIVE is now at
your fingertips, anytime, anywhere.*

” We believe that despite where life takes you, the perfect in gaming and
entertainment should follow,” said Marc Whitten, corporate vice chairman of Xbox LIVE at
Microsoft. ” Windows Phone 7 takes an extra way to handheld gaming, utilizing Xbox
LIVE, Microsoft Game Studios, leading game publishers, and innovative indie developers, to
create powerful, shared experiences for everyone.”

The Games You will have, Played When and Wherever You wish Them

In a sea of games, apps, gadgets and gizmos, the most important obstacle may be finding the
game that’s good for you. Only Windows Phone 7 has a Games hub featuring Xbox LIVE,
creating one other style of mobile gaming experience that puts the games you would like front and
center. Xbox LIVE games on Windows Phone 7 can be specially selected from the end names in
mobile, PC and console game development, making the most effective mobile games even better, thanks to
Xbox LIVE. With try-before-you-buy demos, Xbox LIVE leaderboards, turn-based multiplayer,
Achievements and more, Windows Phone 7 brings the quality, consistency and community of
the Xbox experience to gamers on the go.

Windows Phone 7 also can be supported by content from Microsoft Game Studios
(MGS), providing strong first-party gaming titles and intellectual property for the phone. For
Xbox fans, because of this Windows Phone 7 will offer companion titles to familiar names, such
as ” Halo: Waypoint,” and ” Crackdown 2,” extending the experience of their favorite Xbox 360
franchises.

” Windows Phone 7 is the launch of a big gaming platform for Microsoft,” said Matt
Booty, general manager of mobile gaming for MGS. ” The same as we’ve done with Xbox 360, our
charter is to push the envelope and deliver definitive games that maximize the platform. We will
have a big lineup of MGS titles, and that’s only the start.”

The most creative minds in game development are bringing the largest franchises to
Windows Phone 7. The first wave of launch portfolio titles includes Xbox LIVE games from
the likes of Gameloft, Konami, Namco Bandai, PopCap and THQ. Whether you pick to play
a gem of a puzzler with ” Bejeweled™ LIVE” (PopCap), bring down the house with ” Guitar
Hero 5″ (Glu Mobile), fight off a destructive alien invasion in ” The Harvest” (MGS), paint
your way out of a corner with ” Max and the Magic Marker” (PressPlay) or defend your city
in ” Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst” (MGS), the first wave of games announced within the launch
portfolio of Xbox LIVE games on Windows Phone 7 has something for every mobile gamer:

” 3D Brick Breaker Revolution”
(Digital Chocolate)

” Age of Zombies” (Halfbrick)

” Armor Valley” (Protégé Games)

” Asphalt 5″ (Gameloft)

” Assassins Creed” (Gameloft)

” Bejeweled™ LIVE” (PopCap)

” Bloons TD” (Digital Goldfish)

” Brain Challenge” (Gameloft)

” Bubble Town 2″ (i-Play)

” Butterfly” (Press Start Studio)

” CarneyVale Showtime” (MGS)

” Castlevania” (Konami)

” Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst” (MGS)

” De Blob Revolution” (THQ)

” Deal or No Deal 2010″ (i-Play)

” Earthworm Jim” (Gameloft)

” Fast & Furious 7″ (i-Play)

” Fight Game Rivals” (Rough Cookie)

” Finger Physics” (Mobliss Inc.)

” Flight Control” (Namco Bandai)

” Flowerz” (Carbonated Games)

” Frogger” (Konami)

” Fruit Ninja” (Halfbrick)

” Game Chest-Board” (MGS)

” Game Chest-Card” (MGS)

” Game Chest-Logic” (MGS)

” Game Chest-Solitaire” (MGS)

” GeoDefense” (Critical Thought)

” Ghostscape” (Psionic)

” Glow Artisan” (Powerhead Games)

” Glyder 2″ (Glu Mobile)

” Guitar Hero 5″ (Glu Mobile)

” Halo Waypoint” (MGS)

” Hexic Rush” (Carbonated Games)

” I Dig It” (InMotion)

” iBlast Moki” (Godzilab)

” ilomilo” (MGS)

” Implode XL” (IUGO)

” Iquarium” (Infinite Dreams)

” Jet Car Stunts” (True Axis)

” Let’s Golf 2″ (Gameloft)

” Little Wheel” (One click dog)

” Loondon” (Flip N Tale)

” Max and the Magic Marker” (PressPlay)

” Mini Squadron” (Supermono Limited)

” More Brain Exercise” (Namco Bandai)

” O.M.G.” (Arkedo)

” Puzzle Quest 2″ (Namco Bandai)

” Real Soccer 2″ (Gameloft)

” The Revenants” (Chaotic Moon)

” Rise of Glory” (Revo Solutions)

” Rocket Riot” (Codeglue)

” Splinter Cell Conviction”
(Gameloft)

” Star Wars: Battle for Hoth” (THQ)

” Star Wars: Cantina” (THQ)

” The Harvest” (MGS)

” The Oregon Trail” (Gameloft)

” Tower Bloxx NY” (Digital
Chocolate)

” Twin Blades” (Press Start Studio)

” UNO” (Gameloft)

” Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet” (i-Play)

” Zombie Attack!” (IUGO)

” Zombies!!!!” (Babaroga)

Xbox LIVE: Bringing More in your Mobile Gaming

Xbox continue to exist Windows Phone 7 unlocks a global of games and fun and directly
connects you to a worldwide community of more than 25 million active Xbox LIVE members.
Windows Phone 7 is the only real phone that seamlessly integrates Xbox LIVE and offers unique
mobile gaming experiences:

Avatars. Hook up with your Xbox LIVE profile and Avatar, or create a new one while you don’t already have an Avatar or Xbox LIVE profile; take your 3-D Avatar and props with you on the phone with full closet access.

Friends. Bring your Xbox LIVE friends with you everywhere; compare Achievements, challenge rivals on your favorite game, and even see who’s online and what they’re doing on their consoles, PCs or phones.

Game access. Easily view and launch your full game library from a single location; find, try to buy new games either that you can purchase or Games hub.

Achievements. Earn, view and track Achievements, view Xbox LIVE leaderboards and build your Gamerscore across Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7 – each time you play an Xbox LIVE title.

Messaging. Communicate with all your Xbox LIVE friends, any time you wish to have, through Xbox LIVE messages.

Multiplayer. Invite, connect and play against friends on other Windows Phone 7 phones or the PC with turn-based (asynchronous) multiplayer gaming.

Spotlight. Access Xbox LIVE Spotlight feeds, including the newest game titles, breaking news from Xbox LIVE, game tips and tricks, and more.

Additional titles inside the launch portfolio shall be released between now and the Windows Phone 7 launch this holiday season; once the phone launches, new Xbox LIVE titles also can be added to the games portfolio per week.

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